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Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro goes to Jets, as he expected

Jace Amaro ended up exactly where he thought he would end up. It just took a little longer than he expected.

The Texas Tech tight end had a feeling the New York Jets would draft him. He was right. He just had the wrong round.

The Jets made Amaro the 17th pick in the second round Friday, the 49th overall choice.

“On the visit, I felt like I fit really well there,” Amaro told Jets reporters in a conference call. “I honestly thought I was going to get picked in the first round [by] them. It didn’t happen, and that was something that was disappointing, because you go into the second round, and you don’t really know who’s going to pick you. That was the place where I wanted to play was in New York and to be a Jet, and I’m just glad it happened in the second round, and it’s something that I’m very fortunate for.”

Colorado State center Weston Richburg was the first native Texan selected Friday. The Bushland product was the 11th choice in the second round, the 43rd overall choice, going to the New York Giants.

“Even though Colorado State is a Division I school, it’s in the Mountain West, so we don’t get a lot of respect sometimes,” Richburg told Giants reporters in a conference call. “When it comes to going against other big school guys, it’s always been my dream to be the best center in the country. I kind of got that recognition by being the first center selected.”

His Bushland and Colorado State teammate, tight end Crockett Gillmore, went to the Baltimore Ravens in the third round, the 99th overall pick.

West Virginia running back Charles Sims, who is from Houston Westbury and spent four seasons at the University of Houston, was a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs (69th overall).

Oregon receiver Josh Huff, a Houston Nimitz product, was a third-round pick (86th overall) of the Philadelphia Eagles. Rice cornerback Phillip Gaines followed as the 87th overall pick of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Garoppolo to Patriots

Three quarterbacks were selected in the first round. Two more went in the second. Fresno State’s Derek Carr was the fourth pick Friday, the 36th overall choice to Oakland. The New England Patriots then took Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo with the 62nd overall choice.

Garoppolo broke many of Tony Romo’s records at Eastern Illinois, but Garoppolo said Tom Brady was his favorite player growing up. Now, Garoppolo, who has yet to meet Brady, will learn from the future Hall of Famer.

“He was always the guy I emulated my game after,” Garoppolo said in a conference call with Patriots reporters. “His poise in the pocket is so impressive. He really does a great job of taking control of the offense. He never really loses his cool. He’s always cool, calm and collected in the pocket, and that’s what I try to do.”

Run on RBs

The first 53 picks came and went without a running back being selected. It marked the latest a draft has gone without a running back taken.

Finally, the Tennessee Titans, seeking a replacement for Chris Johnson, selected Washington running back Bishop Sankey with the 54th overall choice. It began a run of running backs.

The Cincinnati Bengals followed at No. 55 by selecting LSU running back Jeremy Hill, and the San Francisco 49ers took Ohio State’s Carlos Hyde at 57.

“Although I am biased being a running back, I think we can be valuable,” Sankey said in a conference call with Titans reporters. “I’m just going to work on myself and becoming the most valuable player possible. I think something I can do to change that is just really show that I’m an all-around player.”

The 2012 draft was the first time since 1963 a running back hadn’t been selected in the first round, making this the first time a running back hasn’t been selected in the first round of back-to-back drafts.

Along with West Virginia’s Sims, Auburn’s Tre Mason, Towson’s Terrance West and Kent State’s Dri Archer also went in the third round. Mason was the 75th overall pick of the St. Louis Rams; West went to the Cleveland Browns at 94; and Archer went to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 97.

Briefly

• Twelve receivers were selected the first two rounds, setting a two-round record.
• Cleveland, which could lose Josh Gordon to a year-long suspension, according to multiple reports, has yet to draft a receiver. The Browns used their second-round choice on Nevada offensive lineman Joel Bitonio. The Browns drafted Iowa outside linebacker Christian Kirksey and Towson running back Terrance West in the third round.
• USC center Marcus Martin was the last player in the green room at Radio City Music Hall. He was the 70th overall pick of the 49ers.

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